“A bad thing”

Straphangers react to 168th Street station work

No, not the partial federal government shutdown, but the year-long halt of 1 train service at the 168th Street subway station, which began this past weekend.

The line will bypass the heavily used station until January 2020 while four elevators leading to the 1 train platform are completely replaced.

Elevators are required to access the station’s 1 train platform, which is located deep below the ground.

The station will remain open for A and C train service during the work period.

Just prior to the shutdown, commuters shared their opinions on the station work. While some said they would simply take the A or C to 168th instead, others who are reliant on the 1 said the outage would be an inconvenience.

“I think it sucks,” said Kelly, a second year student at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. “I don’t live near the A train, so I’ll either have to add another 15 minutes to my commute walking to an A station or spend more money on cabs.”

Dr. Paul Applebaum, a physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, said the shutdown “makes life a little bit harder” for 1 train riders attempting to get to work near the 1 train.

“It’ll definitely be annoying,” said Ario.

“The A is still running here, but if you can’t take the A, it’s going to mean longer commutes.” he said.

“It’ll definitely be annoying for a whole year,” said Ario, a local student.

Chelsea, a Starbucks employee, said she was surprised to learn of the 1 train service change the day before it started. She expressed concern about being able to make it to work on time for 4:30 a.m. at the store, located just above the subway station

“I wasn’t even aware of it until just now,” she said of the shutdown. “It’s not convenient for me to take the A train, so I’m going to have to figure it out.”

Luis Caba, another commuter who relies on the 1 train for his daily work commute, estimated that having to take a different train would take him “about 20 minutes longer.”

Caba seemed resigned to a lengthier commute. “It’ll take people more time, but it’s something you have to do,” he said.

Jean-Louis Sánchez, who takes the 1 train uptown to visit family once a week, said the elevator work would be a deterrent for making the trip.

Service is expected to be halted for one year.

“I might end up coming uptown less, or maybe paying for an Uber if I do,” he said.

A commuter named Zak said the MTA did not promote the service change enough, and only give riders about two-and-a-half weeks’ notice.

“I really didn’t hear anything about it until today,” he said. “It’s really unusual not to hear about something this big.”

Local resident Martina questioned why the MTA needed to shut down all of station’s elevators at once, noting the plans to fully shut down the L train were recently changed into a less burdensome approach.

“Why can’t they just work on one elevator at a time? They don’t need to shut them all at once,” she scoffed.

“People have to go to work, and the buses take too long, and you need to stand out in the cold,” she added. “This is a bad thing.”

For more information, please visit mta.info.

“Es algo malo”

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“I might end up coming uptown less,” said Jean Louis Sánchez (right) with his mother.

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At 168 – Columbia Presbyterian Med Ctr stop we’re hitting all the surfaces people touch. Pres Utano: If MTA officials and the authority’s chief hatchet man are still thinking about laying off transit workers, they need to have their heads examined." #coronavirus@CentralLaborNYCpic.twitter.com/DPFlLcVUXH